Makeup Revolution Iconic 3 Palette

Rose gold is my Kryptonite.
But the price of Urban Decay Naked 3 is too steep, I just couldn't bring myself to purchase it.
Thank God Makeup Revolution came up with the Iconic 3 palette, which is said to be the exact same dupe of Naked 3.
I can't really comment on the dupe since I do not own Naked 3, but judging from the swatches on other beauty blogs, I gotta admit - they're really really similar.
I am really impressed by the quality of the shadows. The pigmentation is really good -- even the matte shades! Matte eyeshadows that you can find in the drugstores always turn out powdery and chalky but this palette is definitely an exception.
Plus, the texture is so buttery and beyond amazing, even though there can be a slight fallout especially for the shimmer shades. The eyeshadows last a long time on my lids too, but if you're worried about the longevity, it can simply be solved with a good eye shadow primer. (My recommendation - UDPP or Etude House Proof 10 Eye Primer.)
This palette merely costs RM32, which is obviously so much more affordable than Naked 3. I definitely recommend this baby to anyone who is considering a rose gold to neutral eye shadow palette but is under a tight budget.

Tarte Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Blush in: Exposed & Blissful

Am I the last one to board the Tarte blusher choo choo train? Seems like it, yikes.

Let's start off with Blissful, which looks a little bit like Nars Orgasm -- sans the glitters of course. It has a rosey-pink tone and it looks amazing - a very natural, pinkish glow.
But what really impressed me is Exposed, which has been a cult favourite since like forever, yet I only managed to lay my hands on it recently.
And fortunately it does live up to the hype! I was initially worried and even sceptical -- 'cuz let's be honest here, first off, the colour shown on the pan is meh. Plus the pigmentation doesn't look that great on swatches, and what if the nude-beige tone won't show up on my medium skin tone?
But surprisingly, it somewhat looks flattering on my cheeks; I have never come across a blusher that looks so natural. It gives a sun-kissed, healthy glow and what everyone said about Exposed are true -- It goes along with every kind of makeup. Ever since I purchased it, Exposed has been my absolute favourite and I always throw it off on my cheeks even on work days. It is indeed a subtle, not-over-the-top, no-makeup-makeup blusher.

One thing about Tarte Amazonian Clay blushers is that it shows up crappy on swatches; it's not buttery, it's not pigmented, it's not even powdery -- it's mediocre. And flat.
You'd probably look at the swatches and wonder to yourself, will the pigmentation even show up on my skin with this kind of crappy texture? But let me tell you, a little goes a long way. Don't make a mistake that I did -- I underestimated the pigmentation and I ended up having clown cheeks. I have definitely learnt my lesson. So trust me people, the colour will definitely show up on your cheeks even with a light swirl on the pan, no worries. Light handed is the key!

Oh, I forgot to mention... I kind of impulse-purchased another Tarte blusher in a recent Zalora haul as well. Hee. But until next time! x

Current Favourite: Unix Take Out Mini Multi Iron

I first saw this in one of Shu Ann's Tried and Tested episodes where she visited Seoul. I was immediately attracted by the vibrant colours of these curling tools. These travel-friendly mini irons are only as big as my palm and I was very fortunate to be able to track it down at Watson during my trip to Taiwan. And what's more, I paid NT$399 (~RM47) instead of NT$499 (~RM58) all thanks to some anniversary event Watson was having at that time. I opted for the Multi Iron which can be used to straighten and curl hair and it comes with a pouch and a cord holder.

I usually apply Lucido-L Designing Aqua Hair Curl Lotion (a heat protectant spray) and Ma Cherie Decoration Keep Spray before and after curling my hair. I only curl the end of my hair as recently I've been loving an airy and simple look over big bouncy curls.

This is how it looks like after some time even after setting my hair with spray. The curls as you can are not very lasting, I must say.

If I'm not wrong, Unix can only be found in Korea and Taiwan at the moment. But you can also get it online either through Ebay, Amazon, Taobao or Qoo10.

Is this absolutely necessary? Honestly, no. You can recreate what I did here using a straightener or a curling iron. But like I said, I was sold when I saw how tiny and cute and colourful they are. But if you're a frequent traveller, why not? But heads up, this might not be suitable for people with long and thick hair as the wand is fairly tiny and it might take ages to style.

FYI: The little black circle at the bottom left corner in the last picture is the eye of my crocodile plush toy I got from Ikea. Yup. I am 20 something (the exact number is a classified information!) and I still own plush toys. Totally normal. *awkward giggles*

Innisfree Long Wear Cushion SPF50+/PA+++

Don't you find it annoying when your foundation melts under the sun? Innisfree Long Wear Cushion debuted last summer to target this exact problem. With Malaysia being hot and humid, I thought I'd test it out and give it a go.

After wearing it for a couple months... I dunno. I have mixed feeling towards it.

Do I like it? Yes.
1. The coverage is good; it has medium but definitely buildable coverage.
2. Light-weighted, feels like nothing on my skin. (FYI, I hate the sticky feeling that heavy foundation usually leaves on my face.)
3. It gives a matte finish.
4. And not to mention that you'd only need roughly 1 to 2 minutes to apply foundation on your entire face.

But why do I feel slightly eh?
1. THE SCENT. The foundation gives off a herbal scent. I usually have high tolerability towards scent but this herbal smell is really really unpleasant.
2. Long wearing? Not quite. It kinds of slide off after 6 to 8 hours so I always have to make sure I apply some powder and a finishing spray to set it.
3. It gradually oxidised so my face always looks kinda dull at the end of the day.
4. Only 3 shades available. I know this is a common problem within Korean cosmetics but still. Come on man.
5. Looks cakey and powdery on my dry cheeks.

You are probably screaming at me after reading #5. "It targets people with oiler skin!" I know I know. But I was sold when it states that it gives a matte finish.
So if you have dry skin or you are looking for a dewy finish, this is probably not the one for you. (You can opt for Water Glow Cushion instead.)

Should you give it a try? Yes.
Do I like it? It has its flaws but I really like it and I can work my ways around it.
But is it a Holy Grail foundation for me? Probably not.
Perhaps I should try Water Glow Cushion next time.

Ah well. The search continues.

Inglot Freedom System Shadows

Throughout these few years, I have heard so many good feedbacks about Inglot, especially how buttery and pigmented their eyeshadows are. I've been itching to try them out but I never had the chance to get my hands on them, even though they aren't that hard to get. (Available at Sunway Pyramid, Gurney Plaza, Queensbay Mall... These all are my most frequently visit malls!)

Inglot is also famous for their Freedom System in which you can choose shadows that you like to work around with and pop them into a duo or quads or even into a 10 shadows palette. I even saw 20 and 40 shadows palette on some videos and blogs... That's a huge palette with crazy amount of products I tell ya. I also heard that you can even pop blush, powder and even lip products into the palette. Talk about convenience. 

Anyway, since I already have Stila In the Light palette which consists of a total of 10 eye shadows (6 mattes and 4 shimmer shadows), I roughly have an idea what particular type of shades I am looking for which can't be found in the palette I already owned.

For what I know, Inglot's shadows are made in Poland and their line consists of 5 types of shadows which are Matte, Pearl, Double Sparkle (DS), AMC and AMC Shine. Matte, Pearl and DS are self-explanatory but the AMC ones hella confused me.

Anyway, after crazy amount of swatching at the counter, in the end I opted for a matte beige to act as a base (#330) and a warm, copper bronze-y colour for my outer V (Pearl #606). And trust me, they are as good as people claimed -- The colours are pigmented (at single swatch, crazy!), the texture so buttery it glides on easily, not to mention how affordable they are! Both shadows cost RM32 (2.7g and 2.3g respectively) and the duo palette is RM26 -- Hello, so much cheaper than Mac! (RM49 for 1.5g of product, what? Not to mention the SA at Mac are mostly obnoxious and arrogant... But this is a common known fact so I'll just leave it here.)

Another plus side is the duo palette -- It is sleek and sturdy which I really really like, as I won't need to worry about cracked eye shadows when I put it into my makeup bag and have my suitcase thrown around by the cabin crew during travelling. However it can be quite heavy, perhaps due to the glass but hey, I can bear with that.

Overall, Inglot is so underrated and  I really wish more people will try them out as they are really worth it -- They deserve the attention! Now, only if Makeupgeek provide shipping to Malaysia... My life will be complete. 

(Waiting patiently.)

Innisfree haul!

Innisfree White Tone Up Serum
Innisfree Long Wear Cushion SPF50/PA+++
Innisfree Shadow Pencil in #5 Milk Tea (부드러운 밀크티)
Innisfree Single Mineral Shadow 09

The force is too strong!
The temptation is too huge and I couldn't resist!

The shadow pencil was used in one of Pony's tutorial and it looked so good on her so I thought I ought to try it out. (If you don't know who is Pony... Go to Youtube and search her videos right now -- I insist. You can thank me later. You're welcome in advance.) And boy it did not disappoint me at all! The shimmers might be intimidating upon swatching but it fades into a nice nudish-beige tone with minimal amount of shimmers after blending. I now use it as a base by applying it on my entire lid and blend it out with my ring finger before putting on another shadow.
A gentle warning though -- you gotta blend it fast 'cuz it literally does not budge at all after it settles for only a minute. I'm serious. Like you can't smudge it with your fingers even if you try really hard. Trust me. It's that intense.
I also love love love the mineral shadow. The 09 shade has a burgundy plus copper brown-ish tone and the pigments are absolutely gorgeous. I'm so glad that I picked it up.

I am still trying out the cushion at the moment; perhaps I will blog about it in the future so stay tuned!


Note: Also, look at the crazy amount of samples given by the staff! All the cleanser samples I received are enough to last me for more than a week. Feels like I'm shopping in Korea all over again.

e.l.f. Studio Contouring Blush & Bronzing Powder in St. Lucia

I'll admit it. I have a problem. I'm addicted to bronzers and blushes, especially when they are dupes of Nars products. I have to. I got to. You feel me?

e.l.f. Studio Contouring Blush & Bronzing Powder in St. Lucia is claimed by many to be the dupes of Nars' Orgasm and Laguna. It is retailed at USD3 as it is a studio line and I got it for SGD9.90 during my short trip to Singapore.

And I really, really like the duo. A lot. I may have fell in love with it. The blush gives me a healthy peachy glow and it looks very natural on my cheeks. The matte bronzer on the other hand, is quite powdery when I swatched in on my hand which got me worried for a few minutes. But it turned out pretty okay on my cheeks. What I can say about the bronzer is - A little goes a very, very long way. I picked up too much powder on my first try (as I was too used to my Rimmel bronzer which I got in a wrong shade) and the end result was not flattering. At all. But thank God for the existence of a big fluffy brush - You can always count on it to blend the cheek contour colours.

No complains about the packaging! The exterior is a matte black plastic (like Nars, surprise surprise) and it even comes with a mirror! I know some people have commented about how the matte plastic have picked up dusts and powder residues after quite some time but hey, I'm not complaining - USD3 and a good quality blush/bronzer duo? What more can you ask for?

I can't really comment on the dupes claim as I own neither Orgasm or Laguna. I do however have the NYX powder blush in 'Pinched' which is also said to be a dupe for Orgasm. Judging from the swatches, the blush of the e.l.f. duo has a more peachy tone and less shimmer comparing with 'Pinched' while 'Pinched' is more pinkish with a golden tone.

Generally, e.l.f. blush/bronzer duo is highly pigmented, looks natural and flattering on face, travel friendly (you'll only need to bring a compact instead of two products!), and most importantly, good quality and dirt cheap. One of the cons I can think of is the staying powder - It merely lasts for a few hours! (Less than 5, I can say.) And also the fact that e.l.f. is not available in Malaysia. Major boo.

Momma wants some e.l.f. here, okay?

Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation

Thumbs up for sleepy no-makeup face! Not to mention the ungroomed brows pardon me people.

... Back to the main topic.I hope you know how I feel - Seeing bloggers/Youtubers raving about certain cosmetics line but oh wait! It isn't available in Malaysia (cue: Rimmel London, e.l.f., Sleek etc.) but thankfully Bourjois has been here since June - the first store being in Sunway Pyramid which is conveniently close to where I stay. What did I do? I picked up the famous foundation immediately without hesitant!

Priced at RM 59.90 (it was on sales when I got it though), the foundation smells like fruits in a pleasant way - obviously since it is claimed that the product is enriched with fruit therapy formula. The shade I got is #51 (Vanille claire/light vanilla), which I find a little bit lighter than my skin tone, even though the sales assistant told me that the foundation will oxidised and hence a lighter shade would be a better choice. Not. It didn't oxidise on me (good news?) so I have to bronze my face up after putting on the foundation. Meh. Lesson of the day: Trust your first instinct, people.

I find that the coverage is positively medium and buildable, as some redness and blemishes on my face are visibly reduced and surprisingly even my dark circles (although I have slapped on some concealer on the picture taken above)! I first dotted the product with my fingers on my face before buffing it using my Zoeva brush.

Texture wise, the product is watery and it sinks pretty well into my skin after applying. And thankfully, no sticky after-feeling (one of my major pet peeves!). I did not set it with powder after wearing it but it managed to last quite a long time - perhaps not as long as Bourjois claimed (16 hours - ain't nobody got time for that!). However it turned a little flaky especially around my chin and under my eyes after 8 hours which is kind of unfortunate. And weird. It has never happened on me before. Perhaps my face is simply dehydrated thanks to my nocturnal schedule.

Overall, I really like the product - Very easy to blend, light weight but able to provide good coverage nonetheless, long lasting, and I secretly love the fruity scent. And oh! The foundation is packaged inside a glass bottle (oh so fancy!) so you might wanna be careful, especially clumsy people like me!

Fun fact: Do you know that Bourjois is a sister brand of Chanel (cosmetic line)?